PRESS

Falmouth Road Race fund-raising and donations surpass $860,000

Falmouth native Packy Norton was one of the top fundraisers
in this year's race, with more than $23,000
raised for Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Falmouth, Mass., Nov. 8, 2006 – The 34th annual Falmouth Road Race, presented by CIGNA, raised a record-breaking $861,318 last summer for 35 nonprofit organizations with its "numbers-for-nonprofits" program. The figure exceeds last year's tally of more than $750,000 and puts the race above $3 million raised over the past several years.

Each year the race provides guaranteed entries, exempt from the lottery, to selected groups which offer the entries out to runners who then gather donations for the charity. More than 500 people participated in the program this year, including Heidi Bruschi, wife of New England Patriots all-star Tedy Bruschi. She raised $4,000 through "Tedy's Team" to benefit the American Stroke Association. Tedy suffered a stroke in 2005 and has since returned to pro football.

"We learned that this disease affects people from all walks of life," she said. "After Tedy had his stroke, we wanted to do something. We saw people younger than Tedy, people younger than our own children, who have been hit by this. That's what motivated us to become involved with the Stroke Association." The group's total was more than $51,000.

Leading the fundraising pack in 2006 was the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, which realized more than $190,000. Falmouth native Packy Norton, a resident of Nantucket, collected more than $23,000, as did Lara Balter of Wayland.

Falmouth pediatrician Dr. Greg Parkinson
was one of the top fund-raisers for the
Cape Cod Women's Shelter.

For Norton, who grew up in Falmouth near the race course, it was his first time competing in the seven-mile event and he did it to help a friend's son who has been diagnosed with cancer.

"It made a big difference, running for a cause like this," Norton said. "I knew all about the race from having grown up in town, but running it wasn't important to me until I found out I could help a friend. It gave me a real good feeling and now that I'm in better shape I hope to do it again."

Balter was inspired to run for a friend recently diagnosed with cancer. "I've run many races, but never Falmouth," she said. "I've always wanted to, and then when this happened to my friend, the timing was right. It was easy raising the money. I think we all know someone who has been touched by cancer."

Balter said running Falmouth felt different than other races and she attributes that to the cause. "It sounds goofy, but it really did make a difference knowing I wasn't just out there running for myself. The feeling at the finish was much sweeter."

The Lymphoma Research Foundation once again was a big beneficiary with more than $100,000, thanks in large part to the efforts of Judi Fanger of Needham and Lisa Horowitz of Bethesda, Md., who each raised more than $20,000. Through its association with the race over the years the foundation has raised more than $500,000.

Nine-year-old Grace Mathis of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.,
raised $4,000 for Children's Hospital.
She ran the race with her dad, John Mathis.

Third in the fund-raising race was Falmouth-based Compassionate Care ALS, which tallied more than $78,000. Other top beneficiaries included the Boston Ronald McDonald House, a home-away-from-home for families who have children being treated for cancer at Children's Hospital Boston and Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic. The house tallied more than $35,000, with Curt Morley of Hingham leading the way with $8,700.

Other significant individual fundraisers were Gary Keimach of Norton, $8,500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Janet O'Shea of Pepperell who raised $8,000 for Boston Children's Hospital.

Nine-year-old Grace Matthis of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., chipped in nearly $4,000 for Children's, which received more than $74,000 in total.

Keimach, who has a son with cystic fibrosis, ran the race for the seventh time. "It's a win-win for me. I'm a runner and always look forward to Falmouth, but this is also an opportunity to help my son and others, so that makes it special," he said. The foundation's tally was just over $50,000.

Heidi Bruschi of North Attleboro, wife of
New England Patriots linebacked Tedy Bruschi,
led the way for the Arthritis Foundation
by raising more than $4,000.

As a sign of the times, unfortunately, one of the new beneficiaries this year was the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, founded in 2003 as a means of providing college grants and financial assistance to surviving children and spouses of U.S. military service members who have lost their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Led by John Dillon of Foxboro, the group raised over $6,000.

Other beneficiaries included the 300 Committee of Falmouth, American Diabetes Association, American Liver Foundation, Arthritis Foundation, Babes Bookin' It, Bowdoin College Memorial, Cam Neely Foundation, Cape and Island Special Olympics, Cape Cod Center for Women, Cherish Foundation, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Doug Flutie Foundation for Autism, Easter Seals, Elf-n-Wood Stables of Falmouth, Gosnold on Cape Cod, Joslin Diabetes Center, Kacky's Crew at Morse Pond School, Kristin Leukemia Fund, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Mashpee Library, Massachusetts Spina Bifida Association, New England Center for Children, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mashpee Wampanoag Housing Program, Penikese Island School, Team Cheryl for Lymphoma Research, Team Trish Leukemia Foundation and Wings for Falmouth Families.

In addition to the charities and nonprofits that benefited, the race committee donated $25,200 to various Cape Cod high school sports teams and youth groups that provided volunteers.

Lisa Horowitz of Bethesda, Md., left, a lymphoma patient,
raised $22,000 for the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
Her teammates Deb Siegel and Oren Harary (no. 1556)
chipped in several thousand more.

Curt Morley of Hingham raised $8,700 for Children's Hospital.